Blazing Angels - Inside the Campaign Mode

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We fly through all the historic battles. New videos and pics too.

By Jonathan Miller

The secret to any good flying game is variety. You can't simply fly through rings or shoot stuff and have much lasting value. Thankfully, through historic battles and a variety of planes and missions, Blazing Angels - Squadrons of WWII has a lengthy and diverse single-player campaign for its genre. We took a near-final build of Blazing Angels for a spin today and our hair is still blown back. Check out the video and image links at the bottom of the page for new media of Ubi's upcoming flyer.

The campaign starts out with a training mission in England. You're an American pilot and volunteer in England, flying alongside the RAF before Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the war. Along the way you'll meet the rest of the Angels: Joe, a country-bumpkin that excels as a mechanic; Frank, a tough-guy from the Bronx that is a natural killer with a foul mouth; and Tom, a defensive specialist and voice of reason in the skies.

The Arizona is going down.

The training mission starts in a bi-wing Gladiator with Joe riding along in the back. He doesn't have his license yet but he's eager to show you around your new digs in the English country side. You'll go through a variety of maneuvers and learn the controls before a German wing starts attacking Tom. Tom's planes is on fire and in serious trouble, so when you save him he's eternally grateful and joins up as the second of the Blazing Angels.

The first real mission takes place above Dunkirk as you stave off bombing wings and tank columns from reaching the city. You start out protecting a column of English tanks and transports as they cross a bridge. When they are safely across, it's then you're job to take out the bridge so the Jerries can't cross. The plane in this mission features the standard machine gun as well as bombs. As you fly, you'll notice a small bombing reticule on the ground and you'll click in the right analog stick to release your payload.

Some history from Ubi: "Dunkirk was the theater of the largest troop evacuation in WWII. As the German armored troops successfully invaded France through the Ardennes region and rapidly advanced, they cut off the British, French, and Belgian forces and trapped them against the Atlantic coast, quickly forcing them into a small strip of land around Dunkirk. Almost 340,000 troops were evacuated using over 900 ships (including hundreds of fishing boats, yachts, and other civilian vessels), despite heavy attacks from the Luftwaffe. During Operation Dynamo, the Luftwaffe lost 132 planes and the Royal Air Force lost 177."